Moonlit Footprints
by Sombliss
Summary: A young girl falls out of reality and into a world full of unusual fairytale characters. Will she remember who she is and figure out her purpose? Does she even want to? And who are these strange people anyways?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Only thing I own is my OC. Rise of the Guardians is not mine. (I wish...) **

Prologue

A frigid breeze swept across the frozen landscape, sweeping the heat from every crevice. It was snowing, sporadic bursts of powdery flakes that coated surfaces with a gossamer layer of glimmering dust. Teeter-totters and merry-go-rounds were immobilized by a layer of ice that reflected the dim yellow street lights and hung in sharp icicles from the monkey bars. The chains on the swing set remained motionless because of the creeping tendrils of the frozen stuff.

All except for the last swing on the right where a small person, a child really, sat in near-stillness, except for the minute movements that identified them as human. They swayed back and forth in the breeze, their short legs barely able to reach the ground as their toes scraped along the ground. Their body was shrouded in a huge, baggy, and threadbare sweater that reached their knees, and their head and face was obscured by a rough-spun scarf that looked like it had been through several battles. Even though it was single-digit weather, they wore no visible pants or shoes, their bare feet just turning a light shade of blue. The person seemed unperturbed by the impending frostbite, reaching toward the moon with mittened hands that were mismatched of course. Their eyes spoke of a sort of eagerness that could not be contained by mere cold or cloth, and the bright yellow-gold orbs shone from the gaps in the scarf. The small person's breath escaped in sinuous coils of mist that drifted towards the sky, dissipating in the stiff breeze.

Suddenly, rushed, heavy footfalls could be heard throughout the small park, startling the small figure to take flight across the frozen ground, scarf trailing behind like a cloak. Flashlights, their bright yellow beams interrupted the delicate light of the moon, illuminating the still-swaying swing where the diminutive form had just sat. The moon-beams seemed to follow the fleeing figure as they dashed into the forest.

"Help me," They whispered urgently as they sprinted in a serpentine fashion, "_Please._"

But no help came.

Booted pursuit was heard once more, almost making the minuscule person trip from anxiety. They were terrified out of their mind and rivulets of fear fell from their eyes. A wind picked up suddenly, pushing them from behind while simultaneously erasing their tracks. But this inexplicable intervention from nature seemed to come too late. Faltering, the person struggled to walk as their frozen feet became unable to support them. In what seemed to be a last ditch effort, they began climbing an ancient pine tree, gripping the low-lying branches and pulling themselves up while ignoring the many cuts they suffered. About halfway up the trunk, they began to leave bloodied footprints on the branches, which were quickly obscured by frost and snow.

Finally, they had climbed as high as the branches would allow. They tucked themselves into the curving hollow formed by the slouched branches and dented trunk, pulling their frozen appendages into their sweater and taking their mittens off to place over their nearly-blue feet. After tugging their arms out of their sleeves and into the warmth of their chest, they huddled deeper into themselves.

They looked at the moon through the branches, making a final wish on the slivery beams of light that trickled past the pine needles.

"Please, let it be peaceful." They whispered as they drifted into cold-induced dreams.

They did not feel the pearly arms that embraced them as they fell out of reality.

**a/n- 'gasp' what will happen next? Seriously, I don't know (haha). I'll probably pair this OC with Jack, but I'm still open to suggestions (even though you don't really know this OC yet *laughs*). If you have a name to suggest I'd be happy to take a look (I reeeaaallly hate choosing names, if you couldn't tell from my very... erm... "creative" titles) Please review and I promise to update this as fast as I can! I love you guys (or singular guy, I don't really know if anyone will read this *weak laughter*)**


	2. Chapter 1- A Small Sliver

**Disclaimer: Only thing I own is my OC.**

Dreams are made of such fragile thoughts; they shatter at the slightest breath of wakefulness. The child stirred, her eyes opening, but she did not feel like her dream had ended. It felt half-finished inside of her mind, a hole that was in the midst of being filled. She shook off the unpleasant feeling, trying to find something other than emptiness inside of her.

There was knowledge, that was certain, like the fact she could see with her eyes and hear with her ears. The thing she was laying on was a rock, and it was in the center of a lake lined with trees called evergreens. In the sky, the moon spilled lustrous beams onto the Earth, dying every surface a varying shade of blue. She could feel the wind and hear the mournful cry of a lonely wolf in the distance. The girl knew the lake was frozen into a solid called "ice" and the gliding clouds that floated with ease on invisible currents spoke of an impending snowfall, though, for some reason, she felt not a single shiver of cold.

She knew all of this and more, but there was nothing else. No name, no story, no memory to speak of. Her mind was devoid of all the things that could possibly tell her who she was, leaving her as little more than a shell of basic facts and common knowledge. She was a living machine, built from fragile limbs and incomprehensible emotions; a delicate network of empty knowledge, greased with the haze of partial-consciousness and recklessly linked together by a mysterious sense of purpose.

That purpose, the driving will behind her every heartbeat, was still unknown to the small girl. So, she decided to do what felt right. She stepped out onto the nearly translucent ice, feeling her way delicately off the security of the boulder. Looking down, she could see through the thin layer of glassy frost and into the midnight-blue of the fathomless lake. For a brief moment, she wondered if the surface was merely thicker than it appeared or if she herself was lighter. The girl didn't feel any different than usual, but, problem was, she didn't exactly know what _usual_ meant.

Shrugging, she continued forward at a leisurely pace. The small figure felt no reason to hurry, and she decided to ignore the terrible nothingness that had taken residence in her psyche, at least until some remedy could be found for the gaping hole in the back of her mind. She looked at the reflection of the moon, a thin crescent, on the filmy ice. As she approached the shore, she felt herself begin to slow down in a mysterious sense of trepidation emanating from some gap in her mind.

_Why so scared?_ she asked herself. Her inner consciousness seemed dormant, however, and she received no reply. _Very well, _she continued, _I will take your fear into consideration, but I will continue unless you provide me with more substantial evidence._ She paused in her thoughts and body for a moment, then added, _It's not that I don't find your input valuable, it merely ranks lower in importance than moving forward._ With that said and done, though she wasn't positive in knowing _who _she had been addressing (be it herself or the slumbering void), she felt confident in her final step off of the lake and onto the solid, snow-covered ground.

She expected to sink into the glittering particles, yet she remained on the very surface of even the softest and deepest drifts as she walked completely barefoot. _Mysteries upon mysteries. _She wondered. The girl could feel the crisp texture of the snow, she could sense the chill that reverberated through her body when the wind would blow, but these sensations held no visceral affect upon her physically.

She was neither cold nor warm. She was not heavy, that was certain, but neither was she light. She held no substance, yet she felt as substantial as any other. Snowflakes, delicately patterned and woven from frozen liquid, were on the precipice of melting on her skin, bordering complete disintegration on contact with her, nonetheless, they passed right through her like she was a mere apparition. To say the least, it was disconcerting, and she didn't know if she should be upset that she seemed to be more of an illusion than a being made of matter, or if she should be pleased at her sudden invulnerability to the cold.

The light was dim under the trees, dappling the ground in hues of moonlit blues and shadowy gray-greens. Towering high above her, the ancient trees gave her a sense of peace. However, as she continued walking, the trees diminished in size until they became stunted versions of themselves, dotting the landscape sporadically with waist-high, shrub-like trees. After another hour of walking, she ground to a sudden halt by a tiny, twisted tree that she knew to be the marker for the end of the tree line and the beginning of a barren wasteland of ice, snow, and blistering winds.

_What now? _She thought as her gaze was drawn to the sliver of silver in the whirling heavens. The stars rotated in their slow circling dance, and the girl's gaze was caught by the star that sat in the middle of it all. _North it is then, _she obeyed. The small figure raised both arms to the moon in a slow salute as she took a step forward into the empty field, continuing her blind journey to a destination that seemed determined by a power outside of her control.

As she placed her foot down, the snow spiraled into a vortex, suctioning her into a paper-thin tunnel made of woven realities and laced-up energies that could only be described as magic. She fell through the passage with her eyes wide open, taking in the intricacy of the fabric that shimmered in an amalgamation of disremembered dreams. It was only a small moment, less than half a heartbeat, until she came to the end of the path.

Landing on her feet, the tiny girl found herself facing a dominating figure with a huge beard and sharpened swords that gleamed dangerously at his side. She couldn't help but notice the look of astonishment that crossed his face for a brief instant before he settled into a cross between amusement and wariness.

"What do we have here?" The man said in a deep and heavily accented voice, appearing to pause to think for a moment. He looked over her with a piercing gaze that seemed to know more about her than she knew about herself, which was probably true given her state of mind. He continued a few moments later, "Now if you wouldn't mind explaining yourself it would save me a lot of trouble, child."

Her thoughts were calm, given her sudden predicament. _Well, _she thought slowly, _it could've been the Easter Bunny._

**A/N- Hello again! I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving (filled with food and the gaining of weight)! I realized that this story is starting reeaaaalllly slowly, but I promise that it will get more exciting! I still love any and all feedback/suggestions you guys (or singular guy/girl) might want to offer me! I still love all of you that read this! Do you think this note has enough exclamation points?! **

**To Tj Barci- My first review! I feel so honored! You really got me blushing ^/^! You have my everlasting thanks.**


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